Ohio Department of Taxation Analysis of Issue 6, Ohio's Resort Casino Estimates Come Close to the Studies and Claims of MyOhioNow.com
	The Ohio Department of Taxation along with the Ohio Secretary of State and the Ohio Office of Budget and Management have released the state's study and analysis of State Issue 6, Ohio's Resort Casino.
The Ohio Department of Taxation Director Richard A. Levin wrote in this report's cover letter, "The attached analysis provides an estimate of both the costs of operating the commission and the revenues that would be generated from the tax. If passed by the voters, once the casino is fully operational, we estimate that the annual yield from the gross casino receipts tax would be between $209.1 million and $231.8 million. Out of those receipts, $5.5 million would go to the Gaming Regulatory Commission for its operations, $0.2 million would be allocated to the Department of Taxation to offset the costs of administrating the tax and distributing the proceeds to counties, and between $2.1 million and $2.3 million would be dedicated to problem gambling programs. Of the remainder of the receipts, 10 percent, or between $20.1 million and $22.4 million would be allocated to Clinton County, and the remaining 90 percent, between $181.2 million and $201.4 million would be allocated on a per capita basis to all counties, including Clinton." The full report can be accessed at www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/Upload/ballotboard/2008/6fiscalanalysis.pdf Rick Lertzman of MyOhioNow/Issue 6 said, "The report by Ohio's Tax commissioner and Office of Budget and Management offers a concrete look at the economic impacts of Issue 6, Ohio's Resort Casino. While our estimates are at a gross casino return of approximately $800 million and a return of $240 million in tax revenues to Ohio's 88 counties, the state study estimates of a return to the state between $209.1 million and $231.8 million with the gross casino receipts at just below $700 million. This almost mirrors our estimates." Dr. Brad Pressman of MyOhioNow/Issue 6 said, "I think this study by the experts in our state government clearly shows the immense impact this project will have on our state. When we are speaking of 5000 jobs and nearly 2600 construction jobs, this is an economic reality in these uncertain times that must be adopted."